The Spaniards did not sufficiently distinguish between the nation and
the ministry of Britain, nor suspected that their interests,
inclinations, and opinions were directly opposite; and that those who
were caressed, feared, and reverenced by the ministry, were by the
people hated, despised, and ridiculed.

By enslaving our ministry, they weakly imagined that they had conquered
our nation; nor, perhaps, sir, would they quickly have discovered their
mistake, had they used their victory with greater moderation,
condescended to govern their new province with less rigour, and sent us
laws in any other form than that of the convention.

But the security which success excites, produced in them the same
effects as it has often done in others, and destroyed, in some degree,
the advantages of the conquest by which it was inspired. The last proof
of their contempt of our sovereign and our nation, was too flagrant to
be palliated, and too publick not to be resented. The cries of the
nation were redoubled, the solicitations of the merchants renewed, the
absurdity of our past conduct exposed, the meanness of our forbearance
reproached, and the necessity of more vigorous measures evidently
proved.

The friends of Spain discovered, sir, at length, that war was
necessarily to be proclaimed, and that it would be no longer their
interest to act in open opposition to justice and reason, to the policy
of all ages, and remonstrances of the whole nation.

The minister, therefore, after long delays, after having run round the
circle of all his artifices, and endeavouring to intimidate the nation
by false representations of the power of our enemies, and the danger of